Chapter 9
Over the next few days, Caesar continues his investigation with no results. There are no signs of anyone outside our group having been in the area, and no one from the group arouses suspicions. Our little bunch seems to be of the same mind as Falk—just ignore that it happened.
And for the most part, it had gone away.
We’d buried Beck in the field just past the area where Falk took me for target practice. Everyone had attended the funeral, and R
yan and Caesar both said words over his grave. Afterward, on top of the dirt mound, Christine placed a ring of fall flowers she’d collected, and that had been the end of it.
Our group is now just the twelve of us.
I notice Caesar sitting near the fire, perusing his notepad. He closes his eyes and his shoulders slump. I look around quickly for Falk, but he had gone to the apartment for new batteries and must still be there. If he sees me talking to Caesar when he isn’t around, he’ll be pissed.
I close my eyes for a moment as my chest tightens up.
I can’t keep doing this. I know Falk wants me to be careful, but I can’t live with a group of people I’m not allowed to talk to. Falk is my bodyguard, not my father. I straighten my shoulders and pour the last of the coffee from the pot into a cup.
“Want some coffee?” I ask Caesar as I hold out the mug.
“Thanks.” He takes the cup from my hand and takes a sip.
“Still trying to figure it out?” I gesture toward the notepad.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He sighs. “I don’t have the kind of resources I need to figure anything out. It’s not like I can take fingerprints. I’ve had my share of unsolved cases, but here…well, there are only so many suspects. To top it all off, no one seems to give a shit.”
“No one really knew him.”
“I knew him.” Caesar looks at me pointedly. “We’d been friends for years. Ryan knew him from when they were in the service together. I feel like I owe it to my brother to figure it out.”
He looks up at me and darts his tongue across his lips.
“Is there anything else you know?” he asks. “Anything you didn’t tell me already?”
“No.” I shake my head emphatically. “I told you—I saw him in the shed before dinner. I didn’t see him again after that.”
“What happened in the shed?” He keeps staring at me, and my insides start to feel tight.
“Nothing, really,” I say. “He was a little drunk. He kept asking me to tell him who I was.”
“Did you?”
“No. I just got away and told him to leave me alone.”
“Did you tell Falk?”
I hesitate, knowing immediately that it’s a mistake to do so. I look in the direction of the apartment, and see Falk on the balcony, smoking. He’s not looking in our direction, but he has likely seen us talking.
“Most of it,” I finally say.
“How did he react?”
“He didn’t do it,” I blurt out. “I asked him, and he said he didn’t.”
“How long have you known Falk, huh?” Caesar asks. “You met him right before everything happened, right? Just another one of the guys on your security detail.”
“He didn’t lie to me,” I say. “I trust him.”
“Do you?”